Vapour
by kazalene
Summary: EC with slight RN. Sequel to 'Recoil'. A new case and the interference of a certain someone put a strain on Eric and Calleigh's relationship.
1. Chapter 1

**- For those of you who haven't read the prequel 'Recoil', I suggest you read that before you read this. There are a few jokes and running themes that you won't understand otherwise. **

Here is the first chapter. It kicks off a few weeks from 'Recoil'.

**Side note: Although there is a mention of R/N in this chapter, don't assume that it is going to take the same format as I took with E/C in the prequel. My story still revolves around E/C. For those R/N fans amongst you however, you're just going to have to wait and see what happens ;-)**

Enjoy! x

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**Chapter One**

* * *

Eric was asleep. It had rained that night; a hot, sticky, probing kind of rain that got in everywhere, soaked everything. A dense fog had now formed and was slowly seeping its way through the city.

Eric frowned; something was wriggling. He breathed deeply as he tightened his grasp, his fingers brushing against her stomach as he pulled her closer to his body.

"Stop it," he muttered.

He heard her laugh.

"Eric?"

He kept his eyes closed.

Calleigh wriggled in his embrace once more and turned her body round so that she was facing his. He released a little 'huff' and frowned again. She smiled; _'she loved that frown.'_

"Eric, it's morning."

"So?"

His eyes were still closed.

"So we have to get up, we'll be late for work."

Sighing, he opened his eyes. He looked down at her, her hair a little ruffled, face free of make-up, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. Four weeks had passed since she'd finally been able to reach out to him and she grew more beautiful each day. Eric cast his lazy eyes away from her to look out the window at the heavy grey sky.

"Not morning," he grunted sleepily, before closing his eyes again. "Dark outside."

Calleigh reached up and traced his pout. '_He was always so grumpy in the morning.'_

"It doesn't have to be light to be morning," she countered.

He raised an eyebrow and opened an eye. She was watching him, her eyes burning a deep shade of green and he knew he wasn't going to win this one. With a yawn, Eric moved his head to look at the clock: 5.30 AM. He grimaced.

"I hate mornings," he moaned.

She laughed, slipping from his grasp, and headed for the bathroom. He heard the sound of running water as she switched the shower on and smiled when she reappeared at the door.

"Aren't you coming?" she asked him.

He studied her for a moment. She was wearing a faded old football jersey of his, her ruffled blonde hair falling delicately around her shoulders; her eyes were playful, mimicking the knowing smile that was tugging at her mouth. Eric didn't need to be told twice; in an instant he was stood in front of her. He snaked his arms around her waist and pulled her to him, kissing her neck as he did so.

"You know, when I said I hated mornings…I didn't necessarily mean _every _morning," he muttered between kisses.

Calleigh raised her eyebrows and rested her arms on his shoulders.

"Oh really?"

"Really," he breathed, before his mouth met hers. She moved her hands up to his hair, running her fingers through it. He tightened his arms as he lifted her up and moved them into her bathroom, kicking the door shut behind him.

_**/EC/**_

Ryan sighed as he looked at his reflection in the glass of the break room; his nose was healing nicely. There was no swelling anymore and the bruising was so faint now that you could barely see it. Aside from the slight pain he got when he breathed too hard, you wouldn't even know that it had been broken and even that would go eventually.

"Oh God Ryan, would you stop it!" Valera teased. She was sitting down at the table, her hands nursing a cup of coffee. Eric had hidden his cubano _again_ and quite frankly, she was a little annoyed.

"What?" he asked, a little hurt.

"You've been staring at your nose now for the past ten minutes. It's not going to turn green and drop off you know!" she replied with a laugh.

"It might!" he defended, before he settled himself down on the couch, resting his feet on the coffee table.

Before Valera could retort however, Cooper walked in quietly humming the 'Jaws' theme.

"Dan, what are you doing?" she asked.

"Have you not _seen_ the fog out there? It's creepy!" he shivered as he replied.

"Oh please, its just droplets of water vapor suspended in the air near the ground. There's nothing creepy about fog," Ryan rolled his eyes.

"Alright Science Boy, this coming from the guy who's scared of a little wooden box?"

"It was a coffin Dan!"

They were interrupted by Valera who was laughing at their exchange. With a final giggle, she moved to the sink and placed her mug down. She headed for the door, pausing only to say, "Frankly, you're both wimps."

Ryan glared at Cooper.

"You started it," Dan shrugged. He grabbed a biscuit before he followed Valera out.

Ryan sighed his frustration and turned his gaze to the window. The fog was certainly getting thicker; the sky was almost black and he could barely make out the lights of the next building. In the reflection, he caught sight of two people step out of the elevator. He turned his head round to get a better look. They were laughing, both had their heads turned to each other and their eyes were both sparkling playfully. Once their laughter had subsided, she took a step towards him and muttered something, a coy smile resting on her mouth, before she moved back and headed for Horatio's office for their weekly review. Eric watched her leave with a huge grin plastered on his face. Eventually, he turned and headed for the break room.

_**/EC/**_

He smiled when he smelt the regular coffee in the coffee maker, _'Valera hadn't been able to find his cubano.'_ Eric reached for the third cupboard on the left, the one under the sink, and felt around for his coffee which was hidden neatly behind the cleaning materials.

"That's a little gross Eric," Ryan told him.

Eric cast a weary eye over to his colleague.

"Hey, as long as it stays out of Valera's grasp, I don't care. Besides, It's sealed." Eric pointed to the twist top on the jar.

Ryan smiled and turned his gaze back to the fog outside the window.

"It's pretty heavy out there huh?" Eric's voice made him turn his focus back.

"Yeah, apparently Dan thinks it's creepy." Ryan rolled his eyes.

Eric laughed as he fiddled with the coffee maker.

"Speaking of heaviness, you and Calleigh seem to be a little heavy yourselves," Ryan teased.

Eric couldn't help the grin that pulled at his mouth. He took a sip from his coffee and drew his arms across his chest. He and Calleigh hadn't actually discussed how to play their relationship at work and Eric hadn't needed to ask. He completely respected her professionalism and knew that she wouldn't tolerate any display of outright public affection, _'although it was fun to try,'_ he thought wickedly. She seemed to be taking an, 'if they find out, they find out,' attitude as far as their colleagues were concerned and he was happy to go along.

"That's really none of your business," he shrugged, trying to play it cool.

Ryan arched an eyebrow and laughed. "You know, I think I preferred it when all you two did was make eyes at each other."

Eric met Ryan's eyes with a stern glare. "Trust me, I don't."

His colleague looked down for a moment, a wistful look on his face.

"I know," Ryan finally muttered. His thoughts turned to Natalia and he rubbed his eyes, trying to shake them away.

"So, uh, you two moved in together yet?" Ryan probed further.

"Not officially," Eric replied. They may as well have though; he couldn't remember the last time he slept in his own bed. Half of his stuff was at Calleigh's anyway.

"What about you and Natalia?" Eric enquired with a smirk.

Ryan sighed and shrugged. There wasn't a Natalia and him.

"That bad huh?" Eric noted.

"I just – I don't want us to end up like you and Calleigh did!" Ryan replied in exasperation. He knew what he'd just said was a little harsh, his crush on Natalia was nothing compared to what Eric had with Calleigh. He didn't even know if Natalia was aware of his feelings, but it was still frustrating nevertheless.

Eric considered being angry for a moment. What had happened between he and Calleigh was different; she'd had good reason to be scared. She grew up watching her father hurt her mother with his drinking, fell for a guy who didn't tell her he was engaged and watched her ex literally blow his brains out in _her_ ballistics lab because he couldn't bare to be _'just a friend.'_ Eric himself was barely surviving before he and Calleigh took their relationship to the next level - the little moments they'd had, had driven him insane - but he would never have done that to her, 'c_ould never do that to her.' _But it was none of Ryan's business and so instead, he opted for a more sympathetic approach.

"If you're so scared of going down the same road that Calleigh and I did then just tell Natalia how you feel."

"But what if I can't?"

"Christ Ryan, how old are you?" He got up to leave. Eric softened when he saw the other man's face. Through the glass, he caught sight of Calleigh heading for ballistics and he smiled, his heart beating just that little bit faster whenever she was around.

"Then just know that in the end, when it finally happens. It's totally worth it."

Before Ryan could answer, Eric was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you to those of you who have left reviews :D

As promised, here is the second chapter. (I'd just like to point out that in my time zone, the UK, I posted the first chapter on the 19th which is today so I have technically kept my word.)

**Slight spoiler for episode:** **Stand Your Ground**.

Enjoy!

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**Chapter Two**

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Calleigh entered ballistics and stopped dead at the mountain of paperwork that lay on her desk, rolling her eyes as she did so; _'ugh, she loved Mondays.'_ Unfortunately, criminals didn't take weekends. As she was in charge of the ballistics lab and Horatio's number two, it was part of her job to sign off on the night shift's or the weekend staff's cases. Stetler insisted that every case's primary evidence was checked by an expert in the primary evidence's field and it just so happened that, oh around eighty percent of the time, the primary evidence was a gun, or an arrow, or something similar at least. It was almost as if it had become his sole wish to piss them all off. Calleigh emitted a small 'huff' and reached for the top file. To her relief, she found she was able to work through the pile rather quickly; everyone had done their job properly as far as she could tell and she made a mental note to thank them.

She smiled when she felt him enter the room, refused to meet his eyes for a moment, teasing him a little.

"Can I help you CSI Delko?" she eventually asked him, her eyes playful.

He laughed. He was leaning casually against the door with his arms folded and had an infectious grin on his face. She returned the smile and watched as he moved towards the desk, grabbing a stool as he pulled up next to her.

"Weekend paperwork huh?" He casually picked up a file.

"Eric!" she scolded, grabbing the file back. "You're going to mess up my system!"

Eric smiled back at her as her brow furrowed and she gave him one of her vaguely annoyed looks, her mouth moving to a pout.

"Don't you have some work to do?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Probably, but I'd rather be here," he replied, spinning their stools so that they were facing.

As hard as she tried, Calleigh couldn't resist the smile that formed on her lips. Eric gently placed his palms on her thighs and rested his forehead against hers.

"I love you," he whispered; loving the way that her eyes danced whenever he said it.

"I love you too," she whispered back; loving the way his mouth moved whenever she said it. Their gaze lingered until with an effort, Calleigh spoke once more.

"Which is why, I am going to have to ask you to leave."

His mouth twitched to a playful pout, but he stayed where he was.

"Why?"

"Because, we both have a lot of work to do and – "

He stopped her mid-sentence with a kiss.

"Eric!" Her eyes widened and she glanced around.

"No one saw Cal," he smirked._ 'God she loved that smirk.'_

"Okay," she began, placing her hands firmly on his chest and pushing him away. "You need to go, I for one would like to keep my job and I can't have you here."

"Why?" he repeated his question and moved towards her again, settling his hands on her waist where he began to caress gently.

"Because!" She felt her body lean into his touch. "I can't concentrate when you're around and being – " She moaned when he kissed her neck. "_Like this_!" she rushed, waving her arms a little in her exasperation.

Eric had to laugh. Her accent had taken on a stronger form and the fire in her eyes was adorable. He pulled her into a hug as she shot daggers at him. He buried his face in her hair, his hands moving to trace small circles over her back.

"Eric!" she moaned into his chest; _'she hated that he could do this to her.'_

He smiled and kissed the top of her head; _'he loved that he could do this to her.'_

She sighed and looked up at him, her eyes pleading with him to stop, her body not really wanting him to.

"O.K. Cal, I'm going." Eric gave her a final squeeze and slowly let his arms drop. "I'll be in trace if you need me." Gently, he leant down and kissed her forehead, before he finally left the room.

Calleigh watched him go, her entire body glowing with how much she loved him, tingling from where his hands had been. With an effort, she settled back into her work but paused when her pager went.

_I miss you, E x_

Calleigh rolled her eyes. He was like a lovesick puppy; but she couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face as she re-read the message.

_**/EC/**_

Horatio was in his office staring out of the window. The fog had completely encased the City now and not a single area was left untouched. He fiddled with his sunglasses as he watched the dark grey cloud swell and relax as more of it swept behind.

"Guess you won't be needing those today," a voice behind him smirked.

"Is there something you want Rick?" Horatio glared back at him, tightening his grip on his glasses.

Stetler drew his arms across his chest.

"CSI Duquesne and CSI Delko; how serious is their relationship?"

"Never were one for subtlety were you?"

He laughed, "Just doing my job Horatio."

"As always Rick." The Lieutenant replied tightly.

"I don't think I need to remind you of the new work policy on relationships between co-workers."

Horatio looked down for a moment before he cocked his head to the side and raised his eyes back to Stetler.

"CSI Duquesne and CSI Delko are two of the best CSI's this department has – "

"One has a piece of lead in his brain while the other shot and killed a civilian off duty, _after_ having a drink or two I might add."

"Don't twist the truth Rick," Horatio was angry now. "Calleigh did what she had to do to save her life and Eric has been coping fine since his return."

"I'm just concerned for your team Horatio – "

"I doubt that."

Rick smirked. "Tell you what, I'm going to let you talk to them. I hope both you, and they, do the right thing."

"We will Rick, _we _will." Horatio turned his back and began to watch the fog as it rose up again. The sound of a door shutting told him the other man had left the room.

_**/EC/**_

With a satisfied sigh, Calleigh placed the last of the case files in her 'done' pile. She rubbed away the dull ache in her wrist from all the writing and allowed herself a moment to relax. Calleigh wondered if Eric had finished his yet and glanced over at the clock on the wall: 11.05 AM. She brought her arms above her head; stretching, before her cell buzzed and she reached back down to pick it up.

"Duquesne?"

"Calleigh, it's Frank. We've got a DB."

She brought a hand to her head and pushed her hair back, listening as he gave her directions to a beach house in South Beach. Calleigh glanced out of the window on her way out of the room, tensing a little at the heavy fog that was swirling around and leaving droplets on the glass. _'This was __**not **__going to be fun.'_

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Next chapter up tomorrow.

As always, reviews are very much appreciated :D


	3. Chapter 3

I've decided to upload two chapters, partly to be nice, but mostly because I want to move the story on a little.

Once again, a big thank you to those of you who have reviewed and continue to do so. I can't stress enough how much I appreciate it!

Anyway, enjoy!

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**Chapter Three**

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Natalia surveyed her surroundings; she was stood in the middle of a fairly large living room. It's Cuban-inspired décor created a real atmosphere and the outdoor terrace usually provided a beautiful image of Miami Beach. At the moment however, thick fog was the only view on offer. To her left, Calleigh was questioning the woman that had called the murder in. She turned her attention to the alcove that led to the indoor pool. Through the doorway, she could see that Alexx and Horatio were examining a man in what she presumed was his early fifties.

"Nice place," a voice grunted.

Natalia glanced behind her to where the voice had come from. Rick Stetler was stood about two feet away with his arms placed casually on his hips. She watched as the man moved his eyes to Calleigh.

"Is there a particular reason you're here?" Natalia sighed, although the curious way that Stetler was watching her colleague had already answered the question. Most of the lab knew about Calleigh and Eric's relationship; _'hell, they'd all known before they did.'_ The energy that used to radiate between them had been so intense that to say it had been uncomfortable to be around was an understatement. Now they had a different kind of energy together, one that made the cynics sick and the romantics sigh.

"How would you describe CSI Duquesne's behaviour of late?" Stetler interrupted her thoughts.

"Professional, why?"

"What about CSI Delko?" he continued, ignoring her question.

"You know, this is a crime scene Rick!"

Stetler surveyed the room for a moment, his eyes flickering dangerously. Finally, he nodded and headed for the door, calling over his shoulder as he did so.

"We'll talk later."

Natalia rolled her eyes and looked over to where Ryan was busy talking into his cell. He caught her eye and motioned for her to come over.

_**/EC/**_

Calleigh glanced over to Alexx who was examining their dead victim. His name was Stuart Pearce, the CEO of a major investment company. He couldn't be more than fifty-five and he was greying a little, faint lines collected around his eyes.

She turned her attention back to the woman she was in the middle of questioning. Apparently, she was Stuart's cleaner. The woman was around the same age as their victim and went by the name of Molly Dean.

"Did you know Mr. Pearce well?" Calleigh enquired.

The loud sob that erupted from Molly answered Calleigh's question.

"I've known him for ten years," she explained between sobs.

Calleigh nodded. "Mrs. Dean, I'm sorry to ask you this but could you think of anyone that would want to kill Stuart?"

Another sob reverberated through the room and Calleigh noticed she was starting to attract an audience. Gently, she touched the woman's arm in an attempt to calm her.

"I know this is difficult for you, but I need your help. If you can think of anything that might help us find Stuart's killer, I'd really appreciate it."

She gave Molly a moment to compose herself and eventually the sobs died down.

"He'd recently just been appointed CEO, he beat out three other contenders. I know the competition was fierce. He was getting so stressed about it," Molly finally replied as she wiped her eyes with a soggy tissue.

Calleigh gave the woman a reassuring smile. "Do you know the names of these people?"

Molly frowned. "One of them is Sam Richardson, he and Stuart go way back. They play golf together every Sunday. Dean Chambers is another one, I don't know very much about him and I have no idea who the other one was. I'm sorry," she finished, shaking her head before the tears started again.

Calleigh caught the eye of a young female officer and motioned for her to come over.

"Mrs. Dean, I think it would be best to get you out of here. This officer will take you home okay?"

She watched as the woman nodded and allowed herself to be led out of the room.

_**/EC/**_

Calleigh made her way over to Alexx and Horatio who were knelt next to the victim. They'd pulled him out of the pool that was making the occasional gurgling sound as the water pushed through the filters. She tensed her nose at the unfamiliar, bitter odor that was slowly diffusing through the room.

"Can you smell that?" she asked as she approached them.

"What?" Horatio shrugged, while the other woman shook her head.

Calleigh frowned, she wasn't quite sure exactly. One moment there was an extremely distinct smell and the next, it was like it was never there. She decided to change the subject.

"We got a cause of death?"

"Asphyxiation, poor baby drowned." Alexx moved her hands to Stuart's neck and traced them down across his puffed out chest. She pushed down firmly and a little trickle of water weaved its way out of his mouth and spilled across the cold, hard floor surface. Horatio and Calleigh watched as their M.E. gently rolled the body over and pointed to the faint impressions on his back. "Bruising implies he was pushed. The position of it suggests it was either by a short male or a tall female."

"Time of death?" Horatio asked.

"I'd say around an hour ago."

Horatio stood up and placed his hands on his hips. "Okay…thank you Alexx, let me know if you find anything else."

He looked to the side for a moment, surveying the pool area and noticed that Calleigh had moved to a basket that lay a few feet away. She had something in her hands and was looking at it intently.

"Ma'am?" Horatio called.

"It's a business card from a Gina Davis." Calleigh turned it over and read the five words that were written neatly on the back:_ 'Congratulations. I hope you're happy.'_

"Mrs. Dean told me that Stuart had just beat out three other people for the position of CEO but she was only able to give me two names. Maybe Gina was the third competitor?"

Horatio glanced at the basket; Champagne and chocolates were some of the contents. He couldn't help but notice the intricate ties of ribbon, that looped around the handle.

Calleigh read his thoughts. "They say presentation is everything these days, looks like Gina knows a thing or two about it."

Horatio smiled and shifted his weight. His fingers twitched in the absence of his sunglasses: _'damn fog.'_ Finally he looked back at Calleigh.

"Well maybe," he paused and shifted his weight once more. "Maybe she knows a bit about murder too."

Before Calleigh could reply, Horatio was gone. Laughing to herself, she fought the music out of her head and headed for the living room.

_**/EC/**_

Eric looked over when he heard Calleigh's laugh. He moved his gaze to the side and saw Horatio leave the apartment. Eric caught Calleigh's eye and grinned, knowing exactly what song was currently playing in her mind. She flashed him one of _those_ smiles and rolled her eyes. She looked away as Ryan approached her.

"Word is Stuart's company is a serious money maker. Or at least it was, when this news breaks the shares are going to plummet."

Calleigh raised her eyebrows. "Well with the CEO dead, people are going to be scared about investing their money. Presents an unstable image for the company."

Ryan watched as she took out a pen and began to write something on her pad. She ripped the page off and handed it to him.

"Could you do me a favour and ask Tripp to get the details of these people? We're going to need to have a word with them."

"Yeah sure. I'm on it," he replied as he took out his cell and headed for the door, smiling at Natalia as he did so. He had decided to take Eric's advice and was going to tell her. Ryan approached his hummer with a spring in his step as his excitement buzzed around him. He didn't even notice the water vapour that seeped through his clothes as the fog encircled him.


	4. Chapter 4

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**Chapter Four**

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Eric was busy dusting for fingerprints. He smiled as Calleigh slid up next to him and handed him the ASM, deliberately brushing her fingers against his.

"How many have you got?" she asked, peering over his shoulder.

He cast an amused look over at her and handed her his evidence. "You tell me."

Her brow furrowed as she concentrated. "Looks like three sets. You think one of them could belong to our killer?"

Eric smiled; she was already forming theories. He gently removed the prints from her hands and bent down to place them in his kit.

"Could do," he shrugged. "I'll run them through AFIS when I get back to the lab."

"Page me when you get the results?" her eyes sparkled down at him.

"Of course." Eric smiled and stood up. He reached out to brush a stray piece of hair off her face, his hand lingering there a little longer than necessary.

Calleigh flashed him one of _those_ smiles and then looked behind him to where Natalia was watching them. She frowned slightly, not quite sure what the look on Natalia's face meant.

"What's up?" Eric moved to stand in front of her and gently touched her arms.

She turned her eyes back to his and smiled once more.

"Nothing, I'll meet you back at the lab okay? I just need to check something out."

He nodded and stepped back, letting her pass. Eric watched Calleigh as she headed for the other CSI. She moved perfectly in her heels, her hips swaying just that little bit more because she knew that he was watching. Eric sighed; _'God he loved her.'_

_**/EC/**_

Natalia was trying to think of how to inform Calleigh about Stetler's sudden interest in her personal life. She knew her colleague wasn't going to like it and Calleigh did have a habit of shooting the messenger every now and then: metaphorically of course. She hoped it wasn't going to become literal. Natalia sighed as her colleague drew nearer and realised her best option was to just tell her.

"Hey Nat, is something up?" Calleigh asked, her eyes curious.

"Stetler was here earlier," Natalia began, frowning about what her next statement should be. She need not have worried though; Calleigh got her meaning immediately.

"Oh."

"He was asking questions about you and Eric," she added, a little lamely.

Calleigh shifted her weight and looked away briefly, clearly uncomfortable.

"What did you tell him?" she replied a bit too coldly. She knew Natalia was just trying to warn her but she hated the idea of anyone discussing her personal life. At work she was Calleigh Duquesne, model professional and Horatio's number two. She didn't want her authority undermined by something that was completely un-work related. But then her relationship with Eric wasn't _entirely_ separate from work and she had known that Stetler would have gotten wind of it eventually. She was just a little annoyed - no, _very_ annoyed - that he'd chosen to ask other people about her private life instead of her. _'But she shouldn't be surprised,_' her brain reminded her.

"Look Calleigh, whatever's going on between you and Eric is you're business. I didn't tell him anything, just that we were in the middle of processing a crime scene and hinted that he was being extremely unprofessional."

Calleigh gave Natalia a small smile, feeling guilty about her earlier tone. "I'm sorry, he's just - "

"Infuriating?" Natalia laughed. "I know, I've only had to put up with him a fraction of the time you have and already I can't stand him!"

"Thanks Nat," Calleigh's smile grew. A silence fell on them, neither woman quite sure what to say, before Calleigh eventually broke it.

"So, I guess we should finish processing this crime scene?"

Natalia nodded and helped Calleigh inspect the rest of the apartment, feeling extremely relieved; _'well, that had gone better than she'd expected."_

_**/EC/**_

Horatio found Eric in the trace lab. He was in the process of running the fingerprints he had collected through AFIS.

"Eric…What have you got?" Horatio asked, nodding to the images that were flashing across the computer screen.

"So far I've got our victim's prints and Molly's. I'm just running the other set now."

Horatio nodded but Eric couldn't help but get the impression that he wasn't really listening.

"Is something up H?" he prompted, a little concerned.

Horatio looked down. He wasn't sure if talking to Eric before Calleigh was a good thing but then he knew that she wasn't going to like the conversation regardless. He sighed and shifted his body to the side.

Eric was getting seriously worried now. He was used to the dramatic pauses and body shifts that came with every interaction his boss made but there seemed something a little weird about him, more so than usual anyway.

Eventually, Horatio lifted his head to Eric's. "Eric…Stetler," he paused again. "Stetler's been asking questions about your relationship with Calleigh."

Eric frowned. He wasn't shocked about Stetler, that had been bound to happen at some point, but he was surprised that Horatio had chosen to speak to him first. He knew he hadn't spoken to Calleigh yet because she would have told him, '_wouldn't she?'_

Horatio sensed Eric's question and answered it. "I haven't spoken to Calleigh yet, I thought perhaps it would be best if you did. I know she isn't going to like the idea of her private life being under scrutiny, especially by Rick."

Both men looked away for a moment, both uncomfortable. Eric couldn't help but feel a little strange about discussing his relationship with Calleigh with Horatio, but mostly he wasn't sure how he was going to tackle Calleigh.

"What exactly are you asking me to do H? I'm not going to walk away, Calleigh isn't just a fling."

Horatio nodded, he'd already known that. Eric looked at Calleigh in the same way that he had once looked at Yelina.

"I'm not asking you to Eric. Just don't give Stetler a reason to come looking for you, just be the professionals that I know you both are."

Before Eric had a chance to reply, Horatio left the room: minus a one-liner and minus the music.

_**/EC/**_

Calleigh entered the morgue just as Alexx finished examining their victim.

"You paged?" she asked hopefully.

"Mr. Pearce here didn't drown. Well he did, but that's not what killed him. There wasn't enough water in his lungs, he wasn't breathing for very long under there."

Calleigh was confused. "Any idea what did kill him?"

"Well, it was still asphyxiation, but I'm not quite sure what brought it on."

"Could he have had an allergic reaction?"

Alexx shook her head. "According to his medical records he didn't have any allergies and I couldn't find any evidence to suggest he'd had a reaction. The push wasn't enough to kill him either, had just enough force to send him into the pool," she added, sensing Calleigh's next question.

Calleigh settled her gaze onto the body that lay on Alexx's table. Despite all her experience in this job, she still found it hard to look. There were fading brown stains of iodine on his chest where Alexx had examined him, small black stitches held his white, cold skin together. She frowned as a very faint smell entered her nose.

"Alexx can you smell that?"

The other woman eyed her curiously.

"It's the iodine honey."

Calleigh bit her lip. There was something else besides the iodine; she was sure that she wasn't imagining it.

"Okay, thank you Alexx," she finally said. "As soon as you do find out what caused his death – "

"I'll let you know," Alexx cut in with a smile.

Calleigh returned the gesture and left the room, not missing the faint odor that lazily spurred up in the disturbance of the air as the door swung shut.

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Next chapter up tomorrow; one with E/C as the only characters...

PS. I love reviews :D


	5. Chapter 5

How I love bank holidays...four whole days off :D

Enjoy!

**Side note: The basic definition for ATP is: Oxygen + glucose is converted to:**

**carbon dioxide + water + ATP (this is respiration)**

**ATP is then used for energy so that muscles can move, the brain can carry out all of its functions and important reactions can occur within the body. I.E it's very very important!**

* * *

**Chapter Five**

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Eric looked up as Calleigh entered the Trace lab. His brow furrowed when she sat herself at the other end of the table, the point furthest away from him. He watched her for a moment, trying to catch her eye but she was deliberately avoiding his gaze: _'she knew.' _Eric sighed and placed his hands on the table.

"Who told you?" he asked.

Calleigh's head snapped up and her eyes widened.

"You knew?" she was a little confused, sounded a little hurt.

"Yeah, H just told me. He thought it would be best if _I_ told you." Eric replied bitterly.

He tensed when he saw the fire that turned her eyes a deeper shade of green; she was definitely _**not**_ happy.

"You haven't answered my question," he attempted, playing for time before the eruption.

"Natalia. Stetler turned up at the crime scene," her voice was tight.

She was struggling to control herself; too many simultaneous thoughts were pounding through her brain. She was angry and hurt that Horatio hadn't thought that he could talk to her about this and was obviously annoyed with Stetler; _'but then she always was.'_ She wasn't quite sure why, but a part of her was also a little annoyed at Eric, which only angered her more. The most important debate going on inside of her however, was what to do about it. She wasn't prepared to end her relationship with Eric; it was ridiculous that the thought had even entered her mind, but she knew that Stetler wasn't going to let this drop: he was like a dog with a bone. With a sigh, she pushed her hair back and leant her elbows on the table.

"So Alexx said our victim didn't drown, he was already dead, or dying, when he hit the water," she attempted to change the subject, avoiding the situation.

Eric studied her for a moment, not quite sure whether to go along with it or force her to talk to him. Another look at her face though gave him his answer. Her eyes had darkened more and he could tell it was taking every ounce of her not to explode. He couldn't help but feel hurt at the way that she could just shut off and he wasn't exactly sure if she was angry with him or not. Eventually, Eric decided to follow Calleigh's lead and nodded.

"What_ was_ the cause of death then?" he tried his hardest not to sound cold.

Calleigh shrugged. For the first time ever, Alexx hadn't been sure and Calleigh was a little concerned. They didn't have a lot to go on except the fingerprints that Eric had found; she and Natalia hadn't been able to find anything else of significance.

The silence continued and Eric flexed his hands. He desperately wanted to reach out and hug her but he wasn't quite sure how she'd react. All he knew was that he was terrified of losing her.

She knew what he was thinking, could see it in his eyes. Calleigh softened a little and allowed herself to smile at him. If she wasn't prepared to talk to him about Stetler right now, the least she could do was reassure him that she wasn't angry with him; she had no real reason to be anyway.

He returned the smile cautiously and slowly moved over to her. He wrapped his arms around her body, pulling her close, and sighed as she rested her forehead against his chest.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

He kissed the top of her head.

"Don't be."

He felt her nod against him, pulled back as she began to laugh.

"Did you use my talcum powder this morning?"

"Maybe." Eric grinned.

Calleigh laughed again and he drew her in tight once more, his breathing returning to normal now he knew that they were okay. Eventually, he let his arms drop and reached for a file, placing it in front of her. Eric leant his body against the table and watched as she read it, loving the colour her eyes turned when she concentrated on something.

"So one of these three prints is currently unidentified?" she raised her eyes to his.

"Yeah, couldn't get a hit off AFIS. The other two are Stuart's and Molly's."

Calleigh cocked her head to the side and bit her lip. She was looking past him out of the window to where the fog was rising and relaxing. She watched as it breathed against the glass, leaving droplets of water vapour as the damp air condensed. _'It was in the water.'_

The light that was dancing in the corner of her eyes told Eric that a theory was forming. He sat down next to her and spun her stool to face him.

"What are you thinking?" he prompted.

"Did you smell something in the house? I smelt it in the morgue too. It was bitter, kinda like – "

"Almonds." Eric finished her sentence.

Her brain breathed a sigh of relief; _'so she wasn't going insane.'_

"Don't some poisons smell like that? When they react with water?"

He nodded. "Hydrogen cyanide is produced in hydrolysis when its sodium or potassium form reacts with water or damp air. The smell can remain for a while, even after the original poison compound has disintegrated."

Her brow furrowed slightly before she spoke again.

"You know, I asked both Alexx and Horatio if they could smell anything and neither of them could."

"Some people can't smell hydrogen cyanide; they lack a certain genetic trait," he shrugged casually.

Calleigh considered this for a moment and watched as he took her hands in his and slowly began to trace the lines on her palms.

"Where are you going with this Cal?"

"Cyanide causes asphyxiation doesn't it?" she answered his question with one of her own.

"Yeah, when it enters the body it disrupts haemoglobin, preventing oxygen from getting to muscles so ATP can't be made. As the available oxygen concentration falls, so does the amount of ATP. The lungs stop working and asphyxiation occurs."

Calleigh raised her eyebrows and smiled at him playfully.

"Show off."

Eric laughed and reached to brush away the stray piece of hair that had fallen teasingly on her face.

"So you want to tell me what's going on?" He took her hands in his once more.

"Mr. Pearce was found in his pool but he died before his lungs completely filled with water, so he only partially drowned. Alexx said the push didn't kill him and we don't know if it knocked him unconscious and if it didn't, why didn't our vic just pull himself out of the water?"

"You think the pool was contaminated with cyanide." Eric understood what she was getting at. "It explains why you could smell it in the morgue; there was still water in his lungs. Also explains why Alexx couldn't find anything. Cyanide is difficult to trace. It's like a vapour that moves through the body system and vanishes almost as fast as it kills."

She nodded as his fingers trailed across her lifelines. She bit her lip as another thought entered her mind.

"If I'm right, how come none of us were affected when we breathed it in?" she asked, a little puzzled.

"Alexx said he'd been dead around an hour, the cyanide could have been planted at anytime before that and with that amount of water, it would have been diluted too much to be harmful by the time we got there."

"Could also be why he was pushed, the killer knew they didn't have a lot of time." Calleigh smiled up at him.

She loved the way that they could just bounce ideas off of each other. She looked down and threaded her fingers through his, just enjoying being here with him. Before she could speak, they were interrupted by the sound of a cell. She gently removed a hand from his so she could answer it.

"Duquesne?"

"Calleigh, hey it's Tripp. Ryan's waiting in interrogation for you. We've managed to get hold of Gina Davis, still working on finding the other two. I also did some digging into Stuart's company, turns out they've just invested heavily in a shipping business."

Calleigh smiled. _'That's interesting…'_

"Okay, thank you Frank. I'm on my way."

Eric watched as she closed her cell and raised his eyebrows at the curious light that was dancing in her eyes but before he could ask her what was going on, she flashed him one of _those_ smiles and he frowned as she kissed him lightly on the cheek. She moved to leave but Eric rose with her and the hand that was still clasped in hers tugged her back.

"Eric, I have to go," she murmured softly.

He sighed and pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her waist. His eyes locked with hers as she moved her arms to rest on his shoulders. They stayed like that for a moment, until he finally tore his gaze away from hers and buried his face in her hair, his lips coming to rest just above her ear.

"I love you," he whispered, feeling her smile into his chest.

"I love you too," she breathed, before she wriggled from his grasp and kissed him gently on the corner of his mouth.

And then she was gone, leaving him with the playful tingle on his lips and the lingering smell of her perfume.

* * *

You guys know the drill; next chapter up tomorrow.

Reviews very much appreciated :D


	6. Chapter 6

Here you go, next chapter.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Six**

* * *

Calleigh joined Ryan in interrogation. He was seated opposite Gina Davis and from what Calleigh could tell, the woman was around thirty. She had long, straight blonde hair and her mouth was pursed into a tight smile; she looked irritated to be here.

"Miss. Davis, I'm CSI Duquesne. I believe you've already met CSI Wolfe?"

Gina's eyes darted to Ryan and she nodded.

"Mr. Pearce was your boss right?" Ryan cut in.

Gina laughed. "He was supposed to be, but the man was a joke. He couldn't organize himself let alone run a company. I'd have done a much better job," she added bitterly.

Calleigh studied the woman for a moment; _'that gives us motive.'_

"Could you stand up for me please?"

She was met with a curious look and the woman slowly began to stand. Once she had gotten to full height, Calleigh nodded and motioned for her to sit down again; _'she was definitely tall enough to coincide with Alexx's findings.'_

"How close were you to Mr. Pearce?"

"Stuart and I had a love/hate relationship; we loved to hate each other." Gina shrugged. She glanced around the room lazily and settled her gaze onto Ryan once more.

Beside her, Calleigh felt Ryan squirm in his chair. She could tell he was a little uncomfortable by Gina's attention.

"Where, uh, where were you this morning Miss. Davis?" he croaked, trying not to be intimidated.

She smiled, her eyes lingering dangerously on Ryan _again._ "I was at work, doing my job. Unlike Stuart was obviously."

"Miss. Davis," Calleigh began. She waited for the woman to drag her eyes away from Ryan and continued once Gina's gaze had switched back to her. "I understand your company has just invested in a shipping business."

Gina watched Calleigh for a moment, her eyes turning a little smug. "Yes, I orchestrated the deal. It's going to make us a lot of money," she said proudly.

Calleigh raised her eyebrows. "So you visited the site, checked everything out; took the tour?"

"Of course, that's part of my job," she replied, her tone a little irritated.

Calleigh smiled; _'Gina would have known where to get hold of it then.'_ She watched as the woman moved her eyes back to Ryan and winked. Calleigh could have sworn she heard her colleague emit a quiet squeak.

"Are you aware that cyanides are used as insecticides in the fumigating of ships Miss. Davis?" she continued, fighting the urge to roll her eyes.

Gina's eyes tensed. "No, should I be?" she replied a little too coolly, Calleigh noticed.

She paused and locked her eyes with Gina. "I'm going to need to take your fingerprints."

"Don't you need a warrant for that?"

"Miss. Davis, let's save us both some time. You have motive, a judge will grant me a warrant in minutes." She hoped the woman would believe her. Some judges were a bit pickier than others and liked hard evidence first, whilst some took hours before they finally got back to you. Luckily, Gina bought it. She allowed Calleigh to collect her prints and glared at her as she left the room.

Ryan literally ran out after her.

_**/EC/**_

"What happened to you in there Ryan?" Calleigh fought the urge to laugh.

"I think she was flirting with me!" his eyes widened.

"Who was flirting with you?" Natalia joined them in the hallway.

"Our potential murderer," Calleigh flashed her a wicked grin before turning back to Ryan. "Ryan could you run these against the prints Eric found? See if we can get a match?"

He nodded as Calleigh handed him Gina's fingerprints and headed for Horatio's office to inform him about the conversation with Miss. Davis.

In the reflection of the glass she watched as her two colleagues stared at each other uncomfortably for a moment, before Ryan gave an awkward smile and shrugged. Calleigh couldn't help but laugh as she approached Horatio's door.

_**/EC/**_

Eric was back at the crime scene, collecting samples from the pool. The house was quiet save for the faint gurgle of the pool's filters as the water lapped against them. There was still a faint smell that was perforating the room but it wasn't as strong as it had been, although it had never actually been that strong in the first place. His mind turned to Calleigh as he worked. He'd been a little surprised, as well as seriously relieved that she hadn't blown up about Stetler. Eric had known she'd wanted to though; he'd spent about fifteen minutes calming _himself_ after Horatio had told him.

He frowned when an unfamiliar sound entered the room. Eric looked over to where it had come from. As he approached it, the quite 'slopping' noise grew louder. He reached out and tugged at what was jamming the filter, pulling out a few long blonde hairs as he did so. Eric inspected them for a moment, before he placed them in his evidence bags and headed back to the lab.

_**/EC/**_

Calleigh settled herself down in the chair opposite Horatio's desk and brought him up to speed about the suspected poisoning and Gina's possible involvement. She had decided not to question him about his reasons for telling Eric about Stetler before her. She knew it hadn't been a question of Horatio not being able to talk to her; he'd just been trying to make the situation easier.

"What about the two other suspects?" he asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"Mr. Chambers and Mr. Richardson? Frank is still locating them. As soon as he calls me I'll let you know."

Horatio nodded and cocked his head to the side. He reached for his sunglasses and began to twirl them in his hands. Calleigh watched him carefully, she knew what he was wondering.

"Eric told me you spoke to him," she said softly.

He looked at her for a moment, before he finally spoke. "Calleigh I want you to know that I don't think your relationship with Eric hinders your job performance at all. You two have always been close and you make a good team, regardless of what goes on in your private lives."

She glanced away from him to the window that was behind his desk, her mind racing. _'Wow,_' was her first thought. _'That must have been the most syllables I think he's ever spoken.'_ She watched as a patch of sky became visible; the fog was slowly beginning to clear now, although it was still pretty thick. Calleigh sighed and looked back to her boss, a genuine smile etched on her face.

"Thank you Horatio, that means a lot...I just wish Stetler could see it that way," she added wistfully.

"You know what Calleigh," he began dramatically. "Don't worry about Stetler."

She looked at him, a little puzzled.

"Don't worry about him because I," he paused again. "I am going to take care of it."

Calleigh left the room unsure as to whether she should be relieved or be worried about what Horatio had exactly meant by that. As always however, she left him with a certain rock song playing in her head.

_**/EC/**_

Eric had just stepped out of the elevator when he saw Cooper walk past and glance at the slowly receding fog outside the window. He caught Dan's eye and laughed as the other man raised his eyebrows and quietly began to hum the 'Jaws' theme. He frowned however when his own, louder version erupted in his mind; Rick Stetler was approaching him. _'Brilliant.'_

"Could I have a word?" Stetler asked.

Eric set his kit down on the reception table and sighed.

"Do I have a choice Rick?" He watched as the other man laughed.

"You and CSI Duquesne – "

"What about us?" Eric cut in sharply.

"So you admit there is an _us?_" Rick smirked.

Eric was rapidly loosing his patience now; it was taking all of his restraint not to hit the man.

"I'm not going to deny it," he replied through gritted teeth, as he drew his arms across his chest.

Rick raised his eyebrows and casually placed his hands on his hips.

"You and CSI Duquesne are aware of the new policy regarding flings – "

"It's not a fling Rick," he growled. Eric moved closer to him, his eyes burning as he did so.

Stetler watched Eric for a moment, trying to deduce what exactly was going on between the two CSI's. He knew they were close but he hadn't been aware just quite _how_ close.

"Even so, I think it would be best if you ended it, or if not, one of you transferred."

Eric ran a hand through his hair and sighed angrily.

"Best for who?" He took another step closer, invading the other man's personal space.

Rick didn't move.

"The team. If you were to have a…lovers tiff," he shrugged at the phrase. "It would have a negative impact on the – "

"No it wouldn't," Eric growled, cutting the other man off. "Calleigh is way too professional to let that happen."

Rick had to laugh at Eric's stubbornness. He'd decided to talk to Eric before Calleigh because he'd thought that she would have be even worse. _'Turns out there's no contest,'_ he thought with a smirk. Rick moved his eyes away from Eric and glanced at the small crowd of people who had gathered to watch.

Eric was still staring at him, anger burning in his eyes. He'd waited too long for Calleigh to admit that she loved him and he wasn't about to let Stetler ruin what they'd just got.

"I'm not so sure about that," Rick's smug voice began again. "Her professional record isn't perfect – "

"In your eyes." Eric was quick to defend her.

"Well unfortunately, my eyes are the ones that matter."

Eric had had enough now, he moved to take the final step that would allow him to connect a fist with Stetler's jaw but a flash of blonde stopped him.

Calleigh placed her hands on his chest and gently, but firmly, walked him backwards.

"Eric don't, this is just what he wants," she murmured softly, trying to calm him down. The anger that was radiating from him was scary and it was taking every ounce of her not to back away. His eyes were still locked on Rick.

"Eric?" she pleaded, trying again.

This time he looked at her. She held his gaze until she was satisfied that he had regained control and then she turned to face Stetler.

"I suggest you leave." Her voice was cold.

Rick studied her carefully. He knew she was serious, the hard glint in her eyes told him so. He shifted his gaze a little to look at Eric, who had moved to stand behind her in support. Stetler opened his mouth to speak but another voice interrupted him.

"I'd do what she says Rick." Horatio was stood to the side, his hands on his hips and his head tilted at a peculiar angle: he meant business.

"There are rules Hora - "

"Rick…Rick this is _my_ lab. As long as we get results, CSI Delko and CSI Duquesne are free to do as they like."

"And what happens if you don't?"

Horatio shifted his weight. "Then Rick I," he paused and looked down. Slowly, he raised his head up again. "I will take full responsibility."

Stetler considered this for a moment. As much as he liked to _inconvenience_ Horatio and his team, the 'no relationships between co-workers' rule was mainly to cover his own back. He didn't want to deal with lawsuits regarding sexual harassment for example, but if Horatio was prepared to take the blame should something go wrong…

He glanced over at Calleigh and Eric; both seemed a little surprised at Horatio's outburst. Rick sighed. He couldn't be bothered to push it further. He'd just make sure that if something did happen, Horatio would take the fall. With a small nod he walked away, oblivious to the music that in Eric and Calleigh's minds, was currently thundering around the hallway.

* * *

As always, next chapter up tomorrow.

Reviews very much appreciated :D


	7. Chapter 7

Happy Easter everyone! It's snowing here and it's all so pretty :D

As promised, here is the next chapter. I merged it with another because it felt a little silly to me to leave this chapter where I had originally left it. There is now just one chapter left.

Anyway, enjoy your Easter chocolate and enjoy this :D

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

* * *

Ryan was in the break room. He gazed out of the window at the now rapidly thinning fog and frowned at his reflection. Ryan wasn't quite sure, but it looked like his nose was a little crooked. He froze. He hadn't noticed it before. He snapped his head round as the door opened and Cooper walked in.

"What are you doing?" Dan asked him, his eyes curious.

"I was, uh, just looking out the window. The fog is clearing," Ryan shrugged, trying to act casual.

"Uh, huh." The other man studied him before he began again. "So you weren't checking your nose out then?"

Ryan sighed and ruffled his hair.

"I think it's crooked."

"So? Natalia broke you're nose remember? It's bound to be," Dan teased.

"It wasn't when I last looked! It was perfectly straight!" Ryan was a little hysterical now. He shot daggers as Dan laughed.

"Could you just look for me?" he pleaded.

"What?"

"Please?" Ryan didn't care that he was begging.

Cooper sighed and eyed his colleague. He didn't particularly want to get that close to Ryan but the other man was starting to make him nervous. He rolled his eyes.

"Fine." He closed the distance between them and peered at Ryan's nose.

"Well?"

"Hold on, I need a better look." Cooper grabbed Ryan's chin and tilted his head so he could see.

"Well this is new," a voice shot behind him. "When did you two hook up? I thought Ryan was into Natalia."

Cooper dropped his hand immediately and snapped his body round to face Valera, her eyes shining wickedly.

"This isn't what it looks like," he rushed.

"Whatever you say," she replied with a coy smile.

"Really Valera, Ryan just asked me to look at his nose. Right?" he glanced behind him.

"I thought it looked crooked," Ryan shrugged, before turning to Dan. "Did it by the way?"

"Shut up Ryan!" Cooper shook his head as he left the room.

Valera was still giggling when Ryan spoke.

"Could you look for me?"

She stopped abruptly and left the room, quickly.

_**/EC/**_

Calleigh and Eric were in trace, neither of them quite sure what to say to each other after what had just happened with Stetler. Calleigh watched as Eric took out the samples he had collected from the pool. She passed him the pipette without him having to ask and continued to watch as he began to add drops of the pool water into test tubes that had a ready-made solution in them.

"What's that?" she asked, finally breaking the silence.

He chuckled softly; she was always interested to learn new things.

"A solution of _para_-benzoquinone in DMSO. If cyanide is present, it will react to form cyanophenol which is - "

"Florescent," she finished. "So we'll be able to see it under UV light?"

"I'm starting to think that there's very little you don't actually know," he teased as he watched her grab a UV pen.

Calleigh flashed him one of _those_ smiles and then settled her gaze back onto his hands as he finished loading the last test tube. She headed for the blinds and tugged them down while he reached for the light switch and flicked it to 'off'. They both arrived back at the table and watched as Calleigh began to inspect the tubes with her UV light. A very faint, dim glow illuminated the room.

"We got cyanide," Calleigh grinned.

Saying nothing, Eric grabbed the camera and took a couple of shots. He silently placed it back down and glanced at Calleigh. She was still studying the test tubes, a look of concentration etched on her face. Eric chuckled and moved behind her, sliding his arms around her waist and pulling her in tight. Calleigh sighed and turned in his grasp to face him, moving her hands to the back of his neck, her fingers playing with his hairline. She started to close her eyes as his head leaned down towards her but stopped when they were interrupted. The sound of a cell phone made Eric groan; _'why did this always have to happen?'_

"Duquesne?" She pulled back a little so she could speak, still wrapped in Eric's embrace.

"Calleigh hey. Both Dean Chambers and Sam Richardson have been away on business this past week. They don't get back until tomorrow but I guess this means that they couldn't have killed our vic." Tripp's voice informed her. Eric began to rub her back gently.

"Okay thank's Frank," she paused, shooting Eric a warning look. He grinned and made his actions more deliberate.

"I'm following another lead anyway." She swatted Eric's head away as he began to kiss her neck.

"No problem Calleigh. I'll see you later."

"M'uh, huh," was all she was able to say as Eric found that spot behind her ear.

She heard a click as Frank hung up and elbowed Eric in the ribs. Calleigh attempted to glare at him as his head came back into view, but the smile on his mouth was too infectious. He drew her in tighter, bringing his forehead to rest on hers, grinning at her playfully.

She raised her eyebrows, her smile betraying her serious tone.

"That wasn't funny."

"No?" his mouth pulled closer.

"No," she confirmed, attempting to wriggle from his grasp.

"Eric!" she whimpered as he kissed her neck again. "Let me go. I have some work to do."

He didn't stop.

"I'm going to have to shoot you in a minute."

Eric laughed and finally let her go. She turned to leave but he stopped her.

"Hold on a second. I pulled these from the pool." He handed her the evidence bag containing the hairs that he'd found.

Calleigh studied them for a moment, realization creeping in.

"You know, Gina Davis has hair like that," she said, raising her eyebrows.

"Guess you better get it to Valera then," he smiled back at her, grabbing her hand.

She nodded and reached up to plant a gentle kiss on the corner of his mouth.

"I'll catch you later."

She had to tug her hand away from him in order to leave.

_**/EC/**_

Calleigh passed the break room on her way to DNA and paused as Ryan poked his head out of the door.

"Those unidentified prints matched Gina's," he confirmed.

"Thank you Ryan." She flashed him a smile, before heading into the DNA lab.

_**/EC/**_

Valera eyed the computer screen; the images were flashing quickly. She was in the process of running the DNA from the hairs Eric had found through CODIS.

"It got anything yet?" Calleigh enquired.

Valera shook her head. Through the glass she caught sight of Ryan in the break room. He was peering at the reflective surface of the microwave, studying his nose intently.

Calleigh sensed her friend's amusement and followed her gaze.

"What's he doing?" she laughed.

"He thinks his nose is crooked. I walked in on him and Dan earlier; Ryan had somehow gotten him to have a look. You should have seen Cooper's face!" Valera giggled.

Calleigh rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Has he spoken to Natalia yet?"

Valera shook her head once more.

"No, it's getting a little boring actually. At least with you and Eric there were all those uncomfortable silences and lingering looks to keep me going," she teased.

Calleigh shot her a glare but chose to hold her tongue, instead asking another question.

"Natalia must know about his crush, surely?"

Before Valera could reply, CODIS beeped. The two women turned their attention to the now frozen computer screen and the flirtatious eyes of -

"Miss. Gina Davis," Valera confirmed.

"Thank you Valera," she smiled and took out her phone.

"Caine?"

"Hey handsome, we've got our killer. Meet me in interrogation?"

"Calleigh…I'm on my way."

She rolled her eyes and with a polite smile at Valera, left the room.

_**/EC/**_

Natalia entered the break room to find him bent over, peering intently at a shiny reflective surface.

"Ryan?" she asked, her eyes curious.

He jumped and shot forward, connecting with the microwave. He stumbled backwards, fighting the throbbing pain that was now coursing through his head and brought a hand to it, checking for blood; breathed a sigh of relief when he found there was none. Through the glass, he could see Valera trying and failing, '_badly, he might add_,' to stop the laughter that was erupting from her mouth. Ryan groaned. He turned his gaze towards Natalia, hardly daring to look at the amusement that he knew he'd see. He was surprised however, to find that there wasn't any, only concern.

"Ryan, are you O.K?"

He smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, I'll live."

She eyed him for a moment.

"What were you doing?"

Ryan rubbed his eyes and looked away, briefly connecting with Valera, before he finally looked back at Natalia.

"I uh, I thought my nose looked crooked." He grimaced as soon as the words left his mouth; _'he was such an idiot!'_

She laughed and moved over to him. He froze when she reached out to his face. He remained still as she gently inspected his nose, a line of concentration etched on her face. Ryan fought to keep his eyes open. He found Valera _again_ and frowned. _'Did she ever actually do anything besides gossip and stare?'_ After what felt like an eternity, Natalia finally released him.

"Ryan, It's fine."

He exhaled a breath, partly the consequence of his relief and partly the consequence of his lungs being able to function again now that she had stepped back. He studied her for a moment, his mind stumbling over what he should say. Ryan watched as she moved over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. _'Just ask her.'_

"Hey, uh, Talia?" He waited for her to look up. "Do you want to, uh, grab a drink tonight? Maybe grab a bite to eat?" He held his breath again. It wasn't the question that was the scary part; it was what her answer was going to be.

Natalia considered what he'd just asked her. She'd been aware of Ryan's crush for a while now and was pretty sure everyone else had too, but she wasn't quite sure how she felt about him. Sure, he could be a bit…_hazardous_ sometimes, but there was something about him that made her smile.

"Sounds good," she heard herself say. "Have you heard of a place called 'Quinn's'?"

Ryan exhaled his breath. _'Had she just said yes?'_

"Uh, yeah. That's the seafood place in South Beach right?" he finally found his voice.

Natalia nodded and moved for the door.

"Meet me there at eight," she said, as she moved through it.

"So it's a date then?" Ryan called. She smiled at him through the glass.

Ryan brought his hands to his head. He wasn't quite sure what had just happened, his brain hadn't quite caught up, but he felt happy. Out the corner of his eye he spied Valera: her face was screaming question marks at him but he ignored her and feigned indifference. He couldn't help the smile that grew on his mouth however, as he followed Natalia out.

_**/EC/**_

Horatio met Calleigh outside interrogation. Miss. Davis was already inside the room, her expertly manicured nails drumming impatiently against the table. Calleigh smiled at him as he opened the door for her. Silently, they both settled down in front of their suspect.

"Have you ever been to Mr. Pearce's house?" Calleigh asked casually.

"No, why?"

Calleigh surveyed Gina and pushed the piece of paper towards her that showed they had found her fingerprints at Stuart's house. Gina stopped her drumming and said nothing for a moment. She was clearly considering how she should answer.

"I may have been once yes," she spoke eventually.

Calleigh smiled knowingly and glanced at Horatio.

"Miss. Davis…we also found your hair at the scene, you killed Stuart didn't you?" he prompted.

Gina's eyes snapped to his.

"No! I just stopped by to drop the _congratulations _basket off and then I left!" she replied, a little too quickly.

She watched as Calleigh pushed a photograph in front of her. It showed various test tubes, all were glowing with a faint, dim light.

"Am I supposed to know what this is?" she asked, a little curious.

"I think _so_ Miss. Davis. It's the cyanide that killed Stuart, the cyanide that thanks to your new business deal, you were able to get hold of. You contaminated his pool with it and all you had to do was get him in there, even if it took a little _push_." Calleigh emphasized the word. "You know, it was a lot of trouble to go to just because he got CEO and you didn't," she added, attempting to rattle her. It worked.

"That position was mine! It wasn't fair that he got it! I brought in all the good deals, I was better at the job, I – "

"Gina stop," Calleigh cut in. "You killed him, end of story."

Horatio motioned to Tripp who was just outside the door.

"Book her Frank."

They watched as she left, her eyes flashing wildly as she went.

"You got a result," Horatio smiled, as he spied Stetler through the glass.

She followed his gaze and bit her lip.

"Horatio, about before? I'm sorry that – "

"Calleigh…" Horatio cut in, "Calleigh don't apologize."

He gave her a warm smile as he left and Calleigh couldn't help but wonder if a song played in _his_ mind too. She stifled a laugh and made her way to the locker room, another question slipping into her head. She frowned when she realised that she wasn't quite sure how to ask it; 'w_as there a set conversation for questions like that?'_ Calleigh sighed as her mind went into overload, question after question erupting within her. She was struggling to come to a decision; it was a big step for her, for them both. She bit her lip before she moved through the door, the questions still reverberating through her brain.

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Ooh looky, some good old fashioned suspense :D

Hopefully I'll post the next chapter tomorrow but I've got a History personal study to do and an English essay so I may not have time.

**But, I'll see what I can do... ;-)**


	8. Chapter 8

Okay, so I can't sleep and given the choice between writing an essay, or a personal study...uploading the last chapter of this is far more enticing.

I'd like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read both 'Recoil' and this, and an even bigger thank you to those that left reviews.

One thing I did forget to mention when I wrote 'Recoil' was a special shout out to Adorelo. I sent the first two chapters to her and whether she knows it or not, she gave me the confidence to start posting in the first place, so I'd like to say a belated thank you.

I'm going to stop now before this turns into one of those cringe-worthy-oscar-type-thank-you speeches so here you all are; the final chapter.

Enjoy!

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**Chapter Eight**

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Eric was waiting for her in the locker room; he'd already grabbed her things for her. He grinned as she entered and he closed the distance between them, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face in her hair. He pulled back when she began to trace patterns over his chest. Eric moved his hands to her hips and studied her for a moment; her eyes were dancing with that light she always had right after they closed a case. He let out a chuckle and pulled her in closer once more.

"What?" she grinned into his body, her earlier indecision temporarily suspended.

"Just you," he replied simply as he ran a hand through her hair.

She pulled back to look at him, her eyes sparkling curiously. Silently, she reached past him to grab her bag and then wriggled away from his grasp, heading for the door. She turned back to him once she got there.

"Aren't you coming?" she asked playfully, echoing what she'd said to him that morning.

Eric laughed and reached for her free hand, threading his fingers through hers before he followed her out of the room. _'He didn't know why he still had an apartment.'_

_**/EC/**_

She was silent for most of the journey; her mind was deep in thought, once again toying with the question. She'd never asked anyone before and she wasn't quite sure how to. _'Was it too soon?' _Calleigh glanced over at Eric. His face was set into a deep line of concentration as he watched the road.

"Cal?" he kept his eyes straight.

"Mmm?"

"What's up?"

She laughed, loved that he knew she was struggling with something without her even having to tell him. There had been a time when she'd been terrified that he could read her so well but now it just made her love him even more.

"Eric, when was the last time you slept at your place?"

He said nothing for a moment as he made the right into her road and parked the car neatly in the drive. He reached for the keys and switched the ignition off before he turned to face her.

"Not sure, why?" he was interested to see where she was going with this. He reached out and clasped her hand, tracing small circles over it.

Calleigh bit her lip and watched as his fingers danced across her palm.

"Is there much point in you having a place?"

Eric relaxed into his seat and raised his eyebrows.

"I'm not sure I follow you."

She knew he was lying, he was just teasing her but she couldn't help but get a little annoyed; _'he was going to make her say it.'_ She looked away for a moment, feeling ridiculous that she was finding it so hard to ask him. She was completely in love with Eric and she had nothing to be scared of. Eventually, she turned back to face him.

"You know, you can be a real pain sometimes." She gave him one of her vaguely annoyed looks.

He grinned back at her and brushed her hair away from her face.

"Cal?" he prompted.

She took a deep breath.

"I'm asking you if you'd like to move in Eric," she replied, a little shocked at how easily it had slipped out.

Since she'd told Eric that she loved him, she'd noticed that she was slowly learning be more open. Calleigh frowned however, her heart pounding, when she realised he hadn't replied. Instead, he opened the car door and got out. Eric wiggled his eyebrows at her through the windscreen and gestured for her to follow him. She sighed, _'God, he was loving this.'_ With an effort, she climbed out of the car and headed over to where he was waiting for her, just in front of her front door.

He stepped towards her and spun her round so that her back was pressed against it. Then gently, he moved both his palms to rest either side of her head. His mouth hovered above hers for an agonizing moment and he smiled playfully.

"Eric?" she whimpered, willing him to say or _do_ something. _'She hated that he could do this to her.'_

He laughed. _'He loved that he could do this to her.'_ Eric moved his body closer, their hips touching now and his hands found hers, pulling them around his waist. He then settled his palms back against the door, locking their eyes before he finally spoke.

"Calleigh," he paused to kiss her forehead. "I would love to move in with you."

She allowed herself to flash him one of _those_ smiles before she buried her face in his chest, breathing a sigh of relief.

"You did that on purpose didn't you?" she breathed into him.

Eric laughed again and settled his hands on her hips, caressing them gently. He waited until she lifted her head up to his and he slowly leant down.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he smiled into her mouth as his lips met hers.

Her hands found his hair while his body moved closer, pressing her further into the door. It felt hard against her back, but she was grateful for it, not sure that she would still be standing without it. Calleigh moaned when he deepened the kiss. She moved her hands to his chest and gripped his shirt, pulling him closer still; she didn't even care that they were in full view of anyone who happened to be walking past; _'it was dark, no one could see.'_ Eric moved his mouth to her neck and began to trail broken kisses down it. He groaned as her hands slipped under his shirt and moved down to trace the skin above the waistline of his trousers. She felt him move his hands to her thighs as he gently lifted her up. His touch grew hot and the moment became so intense that she had to close her eyes. She snapped them open however, when a voice interrupted them.

"Lambchop?"

Calleigh froze. _'Oh God.'_

Eric nearly dropped her. He tore his mouth away from where he'd been nibbling at her neck and turned to face Kenwall Duquesne, Calleigh's father. He let her slide back down the door and moved away, quickly, putting some serious distance between them. Eric raised a hand to his head and scratched it nervously before his brain caught up and he moved to cover the bulge in his trousers. He'd met Calleigh's dad before but never as her boyfriend and this wasn't exactly the way that he'd envisioned it. _'Nice to meet you again Mr. Duquesne. Please watch while I grope your daughter. We're going out by the way.'_

Calleigh's mind was racing. Hundreds of potential excuses to explain what they'd just been doing thrashed through her brain but they all sounded ridiculous; _'Hi daddy. Eric was just looking for something,'_ being one of the worst ones. She bit her lip and decided that she should probably say something, anything; it felt like hours since any of them had spoken.

"Dad, what um, what are you doing here?" she eventually found her voice.

Her father looked away for a moment, clearly just as uncomfortable as she was.

"I've just got back from visiting your mother. She asked me to give you this." He handed her a bag. "It's a cheesecake, your favourite," he added.

Calleigh forced an uneasy smile. Her parents still spoke occasionally, despite their divorce and everytime her father popped home to Louisiana, he stopped by to see his ex wife. She found her voice again.

"Oh, thank you. How, uh, how is she?"

"Good, she's uh, good." Kenwall looked away again, wanting an excuse to get out of there. He settled his gaze on Eric, made sure he only looked at his head, and watched as he swallowed and looked at Calleigh.

"Eric," Kenwall nodded a hello.

"Mr. Duquesne," Eric croaked and returned the gesture, willing the ground to swallow him up.

"So, I'm gonna go. I'll see you later." Kenwall turned to Calleigh. "Don't eat it all in one go," he added, nodding to the cheesecake he'd just handed to her.

She breathed a sigh of relief as he headed back to his car.

"'Bout time you two got together anyway," he called, before he got in it and drove away, accelerating a little faster than he needed to.

With an effort, Calleigh turned to Eric. He looked like he wanted to hide and she was pretty sure that same feeling was reflected on her.

"Oh-My-God," she finally whispered, her eyes a little wild.

"That was uh, awkward," he agreed.

"That's an understatement!"

Calleigh bit her lip and looked away, wondering whether to phone her father immediately and apologize for, _'for what?'_ She looked back at Eric and shook her head gently, smiling as she did so. She stepped backwards towards her front door and fiddled with the lock, she turned back when she heard it click. Eric was still stood there rooted to the spot, a little unsure of himself. She allowed herself to laugh; _'he wasn't so cocky now.'_

"Eric?" she called, as she nudged the door open and dropped the cheesecake – _'cheesecake?' - _her father had given her into the hallway. He looked back at her.

"Aren't you coming?"

Still he didn't move. He was still clearly recovering from the shock of her father walking in on them as he was assaulting her neck.

Calleigh moved back over to him and reached for his hands, dragging him through the door and pausing when they got into the hallway. She pulled his hands around her waist and moved her arms to his shoulders, adopting their familiar stance.

"Relax Eric," she murmured softly.

"That's easy for you to say!" he looked at her wildly, referring to the tightness in his trousers.

She had to laugh. She brought his head down and kissed him gently on the corner of his mouth.

"It's okay Eric," she pulled away to look at him. "He gave you his approval."

He looked back at her for a moment, his insides warming once more as she flashed him one of _those_ smiles and then pulled him in for another kiss. Eric finally began to relax and his hands started to wander. He tensed and emitted a moan as she ran her hands down his chest, straying agonizingly close, felt her smile at the reaction she got. Eric moved his mouth to her neck and squeezed her tight against his body. His hands found her thighs and in one smooth movement he lifted her up, nearly dropping her when her mouth found his once more and her tongue began to tease him. Blindly, he walked them forwards, kicking the door to _their_ house, shut behind him.

* * *

Well there we have it.

I've left it open for a potential continuation...there is an idea floating around in my head and I have pretty much planned the first chapter, but I'm going to wait a while and concentrate on other things.

Please let me know what you think, I'd really appreciate it :D


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